Question

Phenetic classification is based on
(A) The ancestral lineage of existing organisms
(B) Observable characteristics of existing organisms
(C) Dendrograms based on DNA characteristics
(D) Sexual characteristics

Answer 1

Phenetic classification is based on characters which individuals can easily predict and look into. For example, dogs and wolves look phenetic more similar than dogs and fishes.

Complete step by step answer:
In biology, one main method to classify species into groups is the phenetic, or phenotypic, method.
Phenetic classification is based on observable characteristics of existing organisms that are visible to us and we can easily divide them into groups.The phenetic method groups species in keeping with their observable phenetic attributes: if two species look more like each other than either does to the other species, they're going to be grouped together.

Additional Information:
Phenetic techniques include various kinds of clustering and ordination.
In practice, this suggests measuring dozens of variables, and so presenting them as two- or three-dimensional graphs. The major technical challenge in phenetics revolves around balancing the loss of data in such a reduction against the convenience of interpreting the resulting graphs.
But there are many biologists who have criticized the phenetic principle as it lacks objectivity according to them. One of the biologists who criticized Michael Donoghue. Another way of classification is known as Cladistics. In this type of system, organisms are categorized in different groups based on their most recent common ancestor.
So, the correct answer is ‘(B) Observable characteristics of existing organisms '.

Note: Many people and biologists had given their contribution to the event of phenetics, but the foremost influential were Peter Sneath and Robert R. Sokal. Their books are still preferred for references for this sub-discipline, although now out of print.